Shared History: Pakistan and Azerbaijan

We're well aware of modern diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, but did you know that present-day Azerbaijan and Pakistan were ruled by the same king, on more than one occasion?

The first of these kings is Ardashir I. Sassanid records mention Ardashir bestowing a title upon the governor of Shirvan—modern-day Azerbaijan—and the Arab conquest of the Caucasus. Ardashir I's empire, including some vassal states to the Sassanids, encompassed large swathes of land west of the Indus River, now in Pakistan.

With the Arab conquest, Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani was appointed to the Caucasus by the Abbasid Khalifa, Harun al-Rashid. With him began the reign of the Shirvanshahs, in the 860s. Fast forward some 200 years, and the Shirvanshahs were no longer Arab—instead, culturally and socially Persianised, Shirvan effectively became a part of the Persian sphere of influence once again.

Figures such as Prince Bahram (also mentioned in the Urdu and Pashto masnavis, Bahram o Gul Andam) began to be revered. Their sultans took on Persian names: Manuchihr, Qubad, and Faridun.

Besides fighting the Georgians and the Abkhazians, the Shirvanshah dynasty also fended off raids by the Turkic Oghuz tribes. Baku eventually fell to Alp Arslan and his men, after which it became part of the Seljuk Empire. Fariburz I recognized both Malik-Shah I of the Seljuks and the Abbasid Khalifa as his overlords.

Another Seljuk invasion of Shirvan took place during the reign of Mahmud II, as well as more attacks from Georgia. In the 12th century, the country effectively became a protectorate of the Kingdom of Georgia. The Bagrationi kings occasionally used the title of Shirvanshah for themselves. The Azeris eventually regained control, and by this time, the Yazidids came to be known as the Khaqanids.

Shirvan regained autonomy after the fall of the Seljuk Empire. It was under Akhsitan I, the 20th Shirvanshah and successor to Manuchihr III, who also took the title Khaqan-e-Kabir, that the capital was moved from Shamakhi to Baku. Azerbaijan also became a vassal state of the Khwarazmshahis, and later, conquered by the Mongol Empire. It changed hands between the Ilkhanate and the Golden Horde more than once.

Following the collapse of the Ilkhanate, the Shirvanshahs ruled autonomously once more—first under Kayqubad I, and then under his son Kavus I. However, during the reign of the latter, the kingdom came under the rule of the Jalayirid Sultanate (1335–1432). Kavus passed on the throne to his son Hushang, who was killed by his subjects in 1382, thus marking the end of the first line of the Shirvanshahs.

The Shirvanshah throne was subsequently taken over by Ibrahim I, a distant relative of the Yazidi/Khaqanid family, marking the beginning of the Darbandi Dynasty. Ibrahim initially recognized the authority of Amir Timur, but the Darbandi dynasty regained autonomy after the latter’s death.

Shirvanshah history then entangles with the Aq Qoyunlu rulers, who also played a role in early Mughal nobility, and the Safavids. Brutal battles followed between the Safavids and the Shirvanshahs, leading to the Azeris being routed at Golestan, after which they became a vassal of the Safavid Empire. It was Shah Tahmasp, who aided Humayun in winning back his throne, who finally ended whatever little autonomy the Shirvanshahs had left, in 1538.

The last Shirvanshah ruler, Shahrukh, was dismissed for allying with the Ottomans against the Safavids, and the region was incorporated into the Safavid Empire as a province. The Ottomans ruled Shirvan between 1578 and 1607, until it was retaken by the Safavids.

Nizami’s Layla and Majnun also mentions the Shirvanshah Akhsitan I, referring to him as an Iranian Sultan. The last Khaqanid Sultan, Hushang, is named after a hero in Persianate folklore, much of which was also absorbed into Urdu, and is a part of classics for children even today.